The Flash, Vol. 2: Rogues Revolution

The Flash, Vol. 2 is engaging and an absolute blast to read, front to back. Rogues Revolution starts off with a story where Barry Allen is in a strange land, completely unaware of who he is only to encounter Gorilla Grod. The first issue in this collection wraps up with the Flash handling his dilemmas abroad only to wind up back home in Central City where he is now completely unwelcome by the general public. Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato do a great job from there progressing the plot of Barry’s struggle to find a recently missing Patty Spivot, and Allen coping with a city that now shuns him all while introducing the Rogues (Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, Glider, Trickster and the Pied Piper) and explaining their superpowers in an intimidating fashion. The main story wraps back around on itself in a way that leads to a cliffhanger and raises some concern for the future of Barry Allen. The book ends with issue 0, which helps us to get a better understanding of Barry’s life before he became Central City’s superhero we all know him as now.

Onto the art! The first thing I thought to myself after I put this book down was that it is truly beautiful to look at. The artwork is simply stunning, no matter which artist may have been drawing it. Francis Manapul is the regular artist for the Flash series, but Marcus To, along with the few other artists that helped out, act as suitable replacements for the issues that Manapul doesn’t draw. There is one scene in particular where the Flash is in attendance at a ceremony held for Dr. Elias but doesn’t want to be seen by the public, so he is standing in the middle of the crowd vibrating at super-speed. The way in which Manapul chose to portray the Flash standing in the middle of the crowd tapping in to the speed force vibrations was simply brilliant! The attention to detail, no matter how small, is what makes the artwork easy to admire. Even shots from the nose up while Allen has the cowl on, you can read his mood with ease just by looking into his eyes, and that says it all.

Between the fast-paced plot which pushes Barry Allen to the limit and the sensational artwork, I can say with certainty that this is a book I highly recommend.